Collect JSB on a Saturday?

Elessar

Someone told me you can collect your jobseekers benefit on a saturday instead of a friday since it's kept for a few days in the post office? Is this true?

TargetWidow

In short, in my Post Office, yes. In the old days before Postoffices were computerised it was much harder to plan ahead for each day to have only enough cash on hand for that day. Now we know exactly how much we need every day to minimise the risk of robbery.
So in answer to your question if it comes in on a Friday then you should be able to collect it on Saturday (half day till one O'clock), monday or tuesday (normal hours). You can check it by asking the person at the counter to do the following for you BEFORE you collect it...
Say to them, " I want to check the expiry date of my Jobseekers Benefit payment please." Some smaller post offices might never have done this before so here's how they can do it in 4 easy peasy steps.
On the screen they....
1.Press the Postdraft button
2.Press the DSFA lookup button
3.Then they enter your PPSN number manually using the number/key pad
4.Hit enter or hit the green tick on screen.
The details of your payment will come up on screen, ask them what date it comes in and what date it expires. That rule generally applies for all payments of the same type then for you. Different types of payments last different amounts of time e.g. State pension stays on the system for 60 days, whereas Child Benefit lasts 3 months. Hope this has been helpful to you. One last thing though, your lovely local postmaster puts in a 44 hour week, usually for fairly rubbish money and a fair amount of risk to their own personal safety. (Personally I clear less than a checkout person at Tesco would!) It takes about 20 mins to close up on a saturday and if you show up at 5 to one or 28 minutes past five on a weekday they may well have to trash 15 mins of paperwork and start again (and spit swine flu on every note you get!!!!) Be nice to them and show up early if you are going in on a Saturday so that they can get home and you will have a postmaster who will go to the ends of the earth to help you in return.;)

Elessar

Thanks TargetWidow, does this mean that I could collect it indefinitely on saturdays?

TargetWidow

Yup, so long as it is actually on the system. Do check the expiry first, and if like my office it is 3.5 days then it should be fine. Certainly the postmaster won't refuse you so long as there is a payment on the computer for you. If they refuse you just ask for a receipt (a proper system refusal has the option to print a receipt) so that you can get the phone number to call - (the number will be on the receipt) and not just a lazy postmaster. But I'd say you'll be fine for Saturday Monday and Tuesday.

Elessar

Does anyone know if this is OK with social welfare? It would save a lot of queuing on the friday!

TargetWidow

The Social Welfare are the ones who set the amount of time it stays on the Post Office payment system. They decide how long you have to collect a payment not the postoffice. So it must be ok. A load of my customers come in on a saturday and none of them ever get in trouble for doing so.

cee_jay

Social Welfare state you have 3 days in which to collect your Jobseekers money for the Post Office, as TargetWidow said check at your Post office and they will tell you what the system says.

maxwell smart

I usually colect my JSB on a Wednesday but this coming week I am on a course which FAS and SW are part funding. I've just realised that I won't be able to sign on as I'm on the course Monday to Friday, should my JSB be still in the post office on Saturday?

Thoie

maxwell smart wrote: »

I usually colect my JSB on a Wednesday but this coming week I am on a course which FAS and SW are part funding. I've just realised that I won't be able to sign on as I'm on the course Monday to Friday, should my JSB be still in the post office on Saturday?

Notify your local office in writing of the situation, but call them as well. Technically if you're on a course you don't get JSB, but if it's a Fás course you get a different allowance which is the same amount.

TargetWidow

maxwell smart wrote: »

I usually colect my JSB on a Wednesday but this coming week I am on a course which FAS and SW are part funding. I've just realised that I won't be able to sign on as I'm on the course Monday to Friday, should my JSB be still in the post office on Saturday?

I can't say for sure, Maxwell. All I do know is that JSB is paid in arrears and the payments take 5 working days to go from the DSFA computers onto the AN Post payment system at your local Post office. Since it is arrears you are collecting there should be no good reason for the DSFA to withhold your payment. If you want to find out how long the payment stays on the system at your local Post Office then please refer to the post I made earlier in this thread for "DSFA Lookup" and ask at the Post Office to find out for you using that method. Good luck.

john-joe

JSB is usually kept for TWO days from orginal payment day;

ie; if you paid in po on a friday it will be held until tuesday.


ring your PO to confirm,

jj

tatli_lokma

technically it should be there, but I was stung myself. I was told they keep it 3 days - I was sick on my collection day and rang PO and told them. they said fine, come in within 3 days it'll still be here til Sat.
Went in on Sat....it was sent back to SW! :mad: They counted Wed (my proper day) as day 1, so Fri was day 3. Eventhough the counter staff told me Sat was day 3. so I had to go a whole week with no payment. SW did not reissue it for 5 working days so a fortnight later I got a double payment, so at least I got it back, but it was a struggle in the mean time

my bro-in-law was even more stung. he missed his collection day as he was called for jury duty. He went in 2 days later - again it was gone.

Seems to be down to your post office, regardless of the 'official' or 'approved' time limit.

before you assume anything, visit your PO, and get the name of the person you deal with. Get them to write it down even! Just to be on the safe side!

john-joe

Cincikchick wrote: »

technically it should be there, but I was stung myself. I was told they keep it 3 days - I was sick on my collection day and rang PO and told them. they said fine, come in within 3 days it'll still be here til Sat.
Went in on Sat....it was sent back to SW! :mad: They counted Wed (my proper day) as day 1, so Fri was day 3. Eventhough the counter staff told me Sat was day 3. so I had to go a whole week with no payment. SW did not reissue it for 5 working days so a fortnight later I got a double payment, so at least I got it back, but it was a struggle in the mean time

my bro-in-law was even more stung. he missed his collection day as he was called for jury duty. He went in 2 days later - again it was gone.

Seems to be down to your post office, regardless of the 'official' or 'approved' time limit.

before you assume anything, visit your PO, and get the name of the person you deal with. Get them to write it down even! Just to be on the safe side!

Yes if you can't make it to the post office because your sick or something, ring your SWO and explain otherwise the post office will send it back!

If you are meant to paid in post office on wednesday, I would not wait till saturday to collect as it would be likely they (po) sent it back to SWO on friday afternoon.....

maxwell smart

Bit of info for you all, the money was still there this Saturday. Infact, the post office lady told me that it would be still there until Monday afternoon.

TargetWidow

Cincikchick wrote: »

Seems to be down to your post office, regardless of the 'official' or 'approved' time limit.

before you assume anything, visit your PO, and get the name of the person you deal with. Get them to write it down even! Just to be on the safe side!

As I am getting tired of stating..... it is NOT down to the post office. The post office has NO control over the length of time a payment stays on the system, nor do we "send payments back". It simply disappears off of the payment system on it's expiry date. And once again, different types of payment have different lengths of expiry dates so for the final time... CHECK WITH THE POST OFFICE. Dont ask for a number of days. Ask what date it comes in and what date it expires and do the sums yourselves. Enough with the post office bashing already people!~:cool:

tatli_lokma

TargetWidow wrote: »

As I am getting tired of stating..... it is NOT down to the post office. The post office has NO control over the length of time a payment stays on the system, nor do we "send payments back". It simply disappears off of the payment system on it's expiry date. And once again, different types of payment have different lengths of expiry dates so for the final time... CHECK WITH THE POST OFFICE. Dont ask for a number of days. Ask what date it comes in and what date it expires and do the sums yourselves. Enough with the post office bashing already people!~:cool:

errrr calm down!
I did check with the post office - got told a date (saturday), went in, it was not there. The staff in the post office told me they sent it back. So given that PO staff themselves told me this, its fair to see why one would assume that they were the ones who "sent it back".
And if PO staff have no control over it, and SW set an expiry date on it, when then is it so hard to find this out when you contact the PO?
From what you are saying it is clear from the persons payment when it expires, but from what I experienced and what others say, often the system is not checked and PO staff give a blanket answer of "3 days" "2 days" whatever.

I am not post office bashing as you put it, just stating my personal experience. And furthermore, as far as that experience goes I have encountered incredibily bad and illinformed staff in several PO's and great staff in others - so just because one PO runs well with good staff does not mean they all do! Maybe some of us have a reason to "bash" our PO????